A circuit board is a threaded piece of insulation with conducting wires and similar components. When a power supply introduces an electrical charge to the board, it is distributed along these wires to different components in various ways. This allows the board to control how these components are activated and charged when using an electrical device. A wide variety of devices include at least one circuit board, including cell phones, computers, and digital watches.
Circuit boards have an insulator, with strands of conductive material.
common composition
Also known as printed circuit boards (PCBs), they consist of an insulator, usually fiberglass, with strands of conductive material that act as wires at the base of the board. The insulation can consist of one or more layers of material glued in one piece. These additional layers can serve a variety of purposes, including board grounding or heat resistance. The wires on the surface of a circuit board are usually copper, created by mechanically laying down individual lines or by coating the entire board with copper and removing excess.
Circuit boards used in applications like satellites have rigid copper cores that draw heat away from sensitive components.
Components and Design
Since the 1980s, most circuit boards have used surface-mounted components, which are designed with small tabs and are easily soldered into place on the board. Modern circuit board makers often do this by laying down the cold solder mixture and baking the entire board to melt the solder and snap the components into place. Before the creation of surface mount technology in the mid-1960s, manufacturers used cables to connect components to each circuit board. With the need for wires eliminated, boards became lighter and more efficient to produce.
Special features
Various additional technologies can be applied to circuit boards for specialized uses. Flex boards, for example, are designed to be quite flexible, allowing placement of the circuit board in positions that would otherwise be impractical. Some companies design boards for use in satellites and spacecraft, making them with hard copper cores that draw heat away from sensitive components to protect them in extreme temperatures. Other manufacturers make circuit boards with an internal conductive layer to carry power to various components without additional traces or wires.
Invention and History
Although early inventors developed similar boards in the first decade of the 20th century, Austrian engineer Paul Eisler created the first printed circuit boards in the mid-1930s. During World War II, the US produced them on a large scale for use in radios. war. This hardware remained primarily confined to the military sector during this period, but after the end of the war it became available for widespread commercial use.
Used in a variety of electronic equipment, circuit boards include an insulated board, usually green fiberglass, that is packed with electronic components.
